MIchigan's Little Bavaria

A few weeks ago, my friends and I spent our day off by taking a road trip across the state to a small Bavarian town known as Frankenmuth. This really is a place where you can partake in the simple joys of life. "Willkommen. In German it means welcome. An offer to come and join in. Something we don't hear enough of these days." Like I said before, Germany is probably my favorite European country that I've visited so far and it was because I genuinely felt welcome and really enjoyed the hospitality I received while staying there. Not to mention, I love the quaint, cobble stone street, eclectic, privately own shop type villages. Frankenmuth itself portrays a typical German style town from its building arcitecture to unique Bavarian shoppes and other cultural traditions. During our visit, we managed to catch the end of their annual winter-fest. Aside from walking around the town looking at all of the illustrious snow and ice sculptures, we would also wonder into some of the stores. From the leather shop, beer museum, health food store and cheese haus, I was continually falling more in love with this place as we went along. 
Now prior to our visit, I heard about two things, the famous chicken dinners and Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. Well, without a doubt, I had to experience both of these. We actually began our visit by feasting at Zehnder's, known for these aforementioned family style dinners. And the verdict is: I loved it! I mean who doesn't love a good chicken dinner?! 
Eventually we made our way down the street to Bronner's. Just by stepping one foot into this...metrapolis, I don't even know where to begin with explaining this place. I was in such awe by the overwhelming amount of decorations and don't even get me started on tree ornaments. Literally any kind of Christmas tree ornament you can think of was here. Whether it be a your favorite dog, a shoe or even a sushi roll, they had it all! I did get my sister and bro-in-law a pickle ornament that goes with an old German tradition that I've mentioned in a previous post so I was excited about that.
After doing much walking through winter wonderland, we decided to rehydrate ourselves by paying a visit to Frankenmuth brewery. Micro-breweries are my favorite and I'm definitely a fan of this one! I tried a variety of their brews and even got a VIP tour of the brewery itself. Pretty cool, however, most of the stuff our guide said went way over my head. I have much to learn about brewing :) Regardless, it was a real fun visit. The only downfall of this trip is that I was un-able to find a pair of lederhosen to wear  (but maybe that's a good thing =p)
A town of rich history with many goals while facing them with confidence gives me great respect for this place. I look forward to visiting again, perhaps for the world beer expo this spring. ;)

Cheers!
http://www.frankenmuth.org/

a taste of Bronner's